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Shepherds Skyline – Sat 5th November

90   51   Mark Liptrot           MV50  (6/49)     M 87   Lostock AC                55.32
131  82   Adrian Hope            M  (54/87)       M 125  Lostock AC                59.21
168  244  Mark Shuttleworth      MV40  (79/113)   M 161  Lostock AC                62.24
172  96   Mark Checkley          MV40  (80/113)   M 165  Lostock AC                62.43
205  262  Barry Chapman          M  (71/87)       M 191  Lostock AC                64.32
229  447  Peter Noble            MV50  (31/49)    M 208  Lostock AC                66.33
326  275  Gillian Caldwell       LV50  (10/16)    L 67   Lostock AC                81.03

357 runners

Good conditions for running yesterday, dry, no wind but as always with this race – lots of mud. Mark Liptrot was parked in pole position right outside the pub, he must have been up at the crack of dawn to get that position – in tow were a couple of his Road Runners from St Helens. Further down the road was Checkers listening to his heavy music psyching himself up and right behind him the main man himself, Hopey.
We had a warm-up then stood about talking then Gill Caldwell arrived – and on the last minute (but not quite late) as usual Pete Noble. There were more runners than ‘normal’ so the race start was delayed by 10 mins.
We lined up in a bunch start when we noticed Checkers had picked a starting position near the front, man on a mission. Off we set and for the 1st climb it was just a free for all, elbows out and a number of runners falling over. At the top of the 1st climb Mark L, Hopey & Mark C were out of sight and Pete Noble was 20 yards ahead. As we levelled out onto the run to Stoodley Pike i passed Pete and caught sight of Checkers cresting a small hill some 60 yds ahead and this gap seemed to get bigger until i was 100yds behind the Bullet at the descent from Stoodley Pike. I had a good descent and arrived at the bottom 20 yds off the Bullet for the flat run along London Rd, we turned left to head up the next climb thru loads of mud and wot smelled like cow poo, gloopy sticky smelly cow poo. At this point i was thinking of Gill and at the XC the week before i sold this race to her – great race only 6 miles, bit of mud – bit of mud my a***. This 3rd climb is a diagonal climb back up to the Pennine way to retrace the out route back to the finish.

At the top of this climb Checkers was 30yds ahead but i managed to claw him back until i was sitting in his shadow, in stealth mode, about 1/2 mile to go, the single path opened up and i managed to get past him which was greeted by some abuse. I held on lungs bursting to the end, 1 minute slower than last year but i didn’t have a good start being boxed in with little chance of overtaking on the initial climb.
Excellent race with lots of smelly mud and a female fell runner from Lostock!!!. Roll on Dave Staff.

Mark S

Full Results

Photos from Todmorden Harriers

The starter kept urging us to move back to the start line. I’m not joking or exaggerating – every time he said it move back, everyone took a step forward!
“One, two, three, go!” the start was fast, furious and full-contact, with three hundred and fifty odd bodies trying to fit themselves into the same sliver of singletrack.
Though runnable, the first climb was very, very long and my thighs were stuffed full of lactic by the time we reached the top. It always takes me a long time to get into my stride and I usually struggle early on. I made a mental note of anyone who passed me on the way to Stoodley Pike. I don’t know whether I have good technique or I’m just stupid and reckless but I always descend well and when we got to the big track at the bottom I thought, ha ha now you have to overtake me all over again. I managed to hold my own on the climb back up and then it was a case of just letting it go on the long descent to the finish, where I gained seven or eight places. I always feel a bit guilty overtaking people in the last hundred metres or so, but it is meant to be a race after all.

Mark L